Last week we met up to pay a visit to the RWA, Bristol’s finest art gallery, to check out their current colourful abstract exhibition by Albert Irvin. The large scale distinctive paintings can be seen until the 3rd March 2019.
We also had chance to check out the RWA’s gorgeous hidden gem of a cafe, The Epiphany. It’s a real delight, so we’ll definitely be back soon to sample their lunch options.
In true She and Hem style we went dressed for the occasion in the new fun stationery themed pieces, gifted to us by the wonderful Joanie Clothing, and let us tell you, they are real works of art…
Last month we went along to one of our favourite National Trust properties (we are both members – that’s how we get our kicks now) Tyntesfield, because from now until 2nd January, they will be stepping back to Christmas past by having ‘A Very Victorian Christmas’. Now, we’ve both been to the grounds before, but we were absolutely taken aback by just how beautiful the house itself is and we were so glad we took the time to have a walk around and explore every gorgeous room. If you are in the area over the festive period, we definitely recommend collecting a ticket upon entry and enjoying the delightful decorations (including the best Christmas tree we’ve ever seen below!), storytelling, carols and a whole lot more lols. You can even ride in a horse drawn carriage, if that’s your thing.
Now, let’s tall about all of these fab festive outfits. We’ve both agreed that they are probably our favourite looks of the year. A big shout indeed. All of the items from the first three photos are from She and Hem faves, Joanie Clothing*. We seriously love Joanie (they haven’t paid us to say this!). We can always find just the right piece we need for all occasions. If you are a regular reader you may remember we both wore Joanie dresses to a friend’s wedding earlier this year. Jo’s black body and sequin skirt and Victoria’s brown corduroy skirt above are also from Joanie*, with the addition of Victoria’s black sparkly jumper from George at Asda. Our black and brown Chelsea boots are oldies but goodies from Boden* and the beautiful matching watches are from Lokken.
We definitely can’t sign off without mentioning our amazing photographer who captured our day at Tynesfield so beautifully. Thank you so much to the incredibly talented and all round lovely lady, Ello from Hunch Co. Pay her a visit for more stunning images. We cannot wait to work together again!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! See you in 2019!
We love it when an email arrives in our inbox from a brand we haven’t heard of before. It’s always so exciting discovering a new website to browse, especially when it’s full of pieces we love! So we were excited to hear from Fashion World who invited us to put together a couple of outfits featuring their winter essentials! They have SO much good stuff and there’s still time to order for Christmas, if you’re quick!
Jo was immediately smitten with the Sylvia Stripe Dress by Monsoon* and was determined to build an outfit around it! It’s such a flattering and easy to wear style, with a super stretchy jersey fabric (perfect for this indulgent season!). It’s just so flippin’ comfy and there’s zero ironing required, always a win! We always appreciate a dress than can be worn with all varieties of shoe, and we think this frock looks just as fabulous teamed with Jo’s Simply Be Patent Boots* as it would do with heels. To finish off her look, Jo added a yellow Wool Beret by Accessorize which goes perfectly with the rainbow chevrons on the dress and totally nails the colour block trend! Woo!
Victoria decided to fully embrace the Christmas spirit by wearing an actual Silver Tinsel Jumper*. It’s SO cool and an easy way to add some festive sparkle to any outfit at all. How awesome would it look with a sequin skirt? Blingtastic! For this outfit, she decided to dress it down with some Spot Side Tapered Jersey Trousers which she described as “so comfortable it’s like I’m wearing my pyjamas in public”. Is there higher praise than this? As you can tell, we are really into easy to wear fashion and these trousers, with their lovely detailing, are the perfect way to look like you’ve made an effort when really they’ve been lying on your bedroom floor. She finished off her outfit with a pair of trusty Chelsea Boots*, an absolute wardrobe staple.
Both outfits came in at under the £100 mark (Victoria actually chose a couple of tops to layer under her jumper too! ) which we think is pretty great value. Let us know if you’re a Fashion World shopper or if you’re tempted by any of the items we chose!
J&V
This post was written in collaboration with Fashion World and all items featured were gifted.
As it’s Wimbledon time once again, we thought we’d go and cause a right old racket in the woods and serve you up some trendy tennis realness. If you are a hawk eyed reader, you may have seen these fabulous frocks on the blog before. While my (Victoria) little green number* from Emily and Fin is sadly no longer available, you can find Jo’s 1950’s inspired beauty* here, from our friends at Carousel. Strawberries and Pimms all round!
Minimal accessories looked a solid ten out of ten-is for these looks. My yellow sandals are from M&S (they are so comfortable that I have them in three colours) and my panama hat* is from Laura Ashley. It actually first featured on the blog in 2015. So much has changed around here since then, but I’m still loving that hat! Those awesome square ombre sunglasses* are an ace from She and Hem favs Joanie and have recently been reduced to £5! Finally, Jo’s super fun pencil shoes* are from Cath Kidston and her glasses were a gift. Groovy moves and sassy poses all her own.
Hope you’re all enjoying this grand slam weather! See you on the courts.
A couple of weeks ago we were both lucky enough to attend a beautiful wedding up North with our families. We had such a lovely time on the happy couple’s very special day and it was great fun getting all dressed up with the girls. We must admit, however, that we did have a slight wardrobe based panic the month beforehand as it dawned on us that we had to find not one but two wedding guest dresses that were not only all weather appropriate but also fully toddler proof! A challenge indeed! Luckily our friends at Joanie were on hand to save the day with their fabulous frocks, phew!
I (Victoria) wore the Celia Polka Dot Tea Dress*, which is now in the sale for a mere £26.60. Joanie really know how to do end of season sales! There are so many bargains on there at the moment. The sunshine yellow dress is fun, feminine and hella flattering, which means I was really able to take advantage of the vol-au-vents and gin bar.
Jo wore the Sunday Floral Stripe Sun Dress* and the Ilona Crochet Stitch Cardigan which a lot like the bride and groom, were a match made in heaven. Aww. She wore a petticoat underneath which really made the dress pop! My gold block heels were from ASOS and Jo’s awesome pink flats are Orla Kiely for Clarks. A collaboration we sorely miss!
We are happy to confirm that both dresses made it through the day without any little fingers smearing food or spilling drink on them. A true success story!
Pass us a Pimms and a bucket load of strawberries (or tulips in Jo’s case), we’re about to make a racket about these wonderful tennis print dresses from She and Hem faves Carousel. Now the eagle-eyed amongst you may notice that we’re obviously in different locations for these shots but, never fear dear reader, we aren’t consciously uncoupling! I (Victoria) have simply just been on my holibobs and we couldn’t wait any longer to feature these lovely frocks. Normal service to resume shortly.
So, whilst I’ve been sunning myself in glorious Cyprus, Jo has been skipping round the fields of Somerset picking flowers. If that doesn’t demonstrate versatility in a frock, I don’t know what does. Jo is hoping to write a post about her PYO tulips experience so you may well be treated to a lot of pretty photos soon.
I’m wearing the button-up 1940’s inspired Ingrid Tea Dress*, which I chose because I prefer to have a little something covering the tops of my arms. With the cap sleeves, cute collar and pockets, it ticks all of my dress desires. Thanks Carousel! Jo wears the equally lovely 1950’s style Brigette Dress*. I love the fit and flare shape of the Brigette, it looks excellent paired with her brown ankle boots from M&S.
You may think we are more Tai Cheese than Tai Chi, but oh my quads, how wrong you are. Nowadays, we spend most of our time running around after our toddlers, and boy do these girls have busy social lives! Come rain or shine you will find us pushing them for miles on end around Bristol to their music/sensory/swimming classes. Luckily for us, the lovely folk at JD Williams recently got in touch to ask to ask if we wanted to choose some items from their new Fitness range, so we could look half decent while doing so. So here we are bringing you some active wear realness, She and Hem style.
The Beast from the East hit us hard in the South West, so the items we chose could not have come at a better time. As you can see, we really put them to the test. We wrapped the girls up and tackled freezing cold winds and heavy snow and are pleased as punch to report that the jackets passed with flying colours!
I (Victoria) picked the Regatta Roanstar 2 Hooded Jacket in fig. I’ve been wanting a ‘sensible’ coat for so long, as all of my current coats tend to be more fun than functional and definitely not suited to snow. I am now living in this because it’s just so cosy (thanks Thermo-Guard insulation!). I was slightly concerned that it wasn’t going to be flattering because of the mid-length, so I was pleased to discover it has curved side seams, which you can tighten or loosen depending on how snug you want the coat to be. I shall now refer to this as my Yellow Weather Warning Winter Warmer. Catchy, I’m sure you’ll agree.
Jo wears the Tog24 Heaven Milatex Jacket in navy and pink. It’s designed for use in the mountains, so a snowy walk in Bristol was a breeze for this waterproof, windproof badboy. Jo finds the thumb holes and the handy inside pockets particularly excellent, and I think it looks great thanks to the groovy pink panel.
Hello hello! Welcome back to Double Thumbs Dresses and a very happy Easter to you all! It’s time once again for our frocktacular roundup of the dresses deemed worthy of the highly coveted Double Thumbs seal of approval. Let us celebrate the fact that it didn’t take me a year to write another post this time!
*FYI click on the image for a direct link to the dress*
Iconic Women Dress $85 (about £60) from Book of Deer
First up is this incredible dress from Book of Deer. Quite honestly, this is up there with my favourite dresses ever featured on this here blog. Book of Deer put it better than I ever could by explaining on their website that this print celebrates ‘96 iconic women who have influenced the world we live in today. As well as depicting the more well-known faces of activism, academia, art and heroism, the print also features women who have achieved amazing things or overcome huge social obstacles that may have been overlooked in mainstream history‘. The result is magical and I want to wear it every single day! You can see a close up of the print here.
Wild Animals Shirt Dress £59 from Sugarhill Boutique
Adora Swimmers Shirt Dress £59 from Sugarhill Boutique
Next up we have a couple of fab prints from the new collection at Sugarhill Boutique. Both dresses are in the Adora shirt dress style which is a lovely 1950s button-up shape and has the most delightfully retro split collar. LOVE! The wild animal print features a stunning hand drawn safari scene that I am obsessed with and the swimmers dress is equally wonderful thanks to those quirky synchronized swimmers.
Floral Pleated Midi Dress £79 from & Other Stories
I have been majorly crushing on this yellow beauty from & Other Stories. It just looks so swooshy (not a word) and dreamy plus look at those gorgeous long sleeves.
Chevron Striped Midi Dress £49 from Warehouse
Jacquard Midi Dress £69 from Warehouse
Warehouse have some wonderful midi-dresses in this season! I find those blue chevrons deeply enjoyable and I am really into the buttons only starting below the waistline. It makes it a bit different and the result is a very nice looking dress indeed. I am also a big fan of their beautiful metallic gold midi-dress which, I think, looks super expensive. The website assures me that this ruffled frock shimmers IRL which only makes me want it more.
Off Shoulder Sundress With Tiered Skirt In Rainbow £18 from ASOS
You will probably need to act fast if you want this super cheerful rainbow affair from ASOS as the £18 pricetag means it won’t be around for long. It’s the perfect dress for Summer which, apparently, is on the way.
Armelle Dress £66 (was £110) from Boden
Angela Textured Dress £48 (was £80) from Boden
Rejoice! She and Hem faves Boden have knocked a load of pounds off some pretty great dresses. I’ve been coveting the Armelle dress for quite some time so I think I might have to take the plunge. It’s just such a fun style! And as someone who really enjoys making a spectacle of herself, I feel the glasses print was always destined for my wardrobe. It’s such a ‘throw on and go’ dress which is what my life is all about.
Red Shellfish Print Rockabilly Shirt Dress £38 from Lindy Bop
It would be shellfish not to share with you this cray cray crab print dress from Lindy Bop. I am really diggin’ the vibrant pop of red and I it’s a real pinch at £38.
Cutabout Stripe Ruffle Midi Dress £46 from Topshop
Last but not least is this perfectly picnic appropriate number from Topshop. I adore everything about this frock and am already imagining myself strolling through the park with a big hat and sandals, living my best yellow-loving life.
Since my daughter arrived last year, my style has taken a bit of a step towards quick and easy dressing, with the emphasis very much on comfort! Before motherhood, I would prefer to swish around in a novelty dress (as seen in pretty much all blog posts from 2013 to 2016!), than a more casual trousers/top combo. Although I do still really love dresses, I find myself saving them for special occasions or for times when I want to make a tiny bit more of an effort. Which, to be honest, as a busy working mum, really isn’t that often. Recently, I have been living in the classic ‘jeans and a nice top’, which has quickly become my go to soft play uniform. However, a new trend caught my eye at London Fashion Week last month and I want to get involved!
What is it? Why, Athleisurewear of course! It’s been popping up all over the high street and aims to combine fitness and fashion to create contemporary casual wear. Nice. What I am after in particular is something to swap my jeans for, for ultimate comfort. I’m off on a long flight with a toddler soon and I feel I need some something like the womens joggers seen above from Jack Wills, which will hopefully still come across as a stylish trouser, but feel oh so comfy. I think my family would much rather I rock up in these than my cat pyjamas, so I’m going to give them a whirl.
Late to the party, as always, I’ve also gotten into wearing trainers. This is probably something to do with having lots of young family members obsessed with street wear. I’m more of a yellow Gazelle girl than a Yeezy Queen, but I appreciate that you can wear trainers with pretty much anything and not have to worry about running for the bus or in my case, pushing the buggy for miles around hilly Bristol while my daughter naps. The question is, can I pull off the jogger and trainer combo? There’s only one way to find out! Check our Instagram next month to see what I’ve bought for that plane ride and do let me know if you have embraced the athleisure trend!
Vx
*This post was written in collaboration with Jack Wills, but words and desire to be comfortable is all my own*
Hello hello! Welcome back (at long long last) to Double Thumbs Dresses, our roundup of the frocks we have deemed worthy of the highly coveted double thumbs seal of approval! First off, an explanation. I didn’t plan to have such a long break from writing these posts (I think it has been nearly a year?!) but between maternity pay and breastfeeding, I just haven’t been spending much time online lusting over dresses and checking-out my virtual basket. These posts have always been about the frocks I’ve fallen in love with when shopping for myself and, *insert tiny violins*, shopping for myself wasn’t really a thing for a long time! However, since returning back to work I now get to spend a lot of time on trains idly scrolling ASOS like old times. I have missed you, old friend! It feels good to be back and I can’t wait to start sharing my finds with you all once more. NO BANK BALANCE IS SAFE.
*FYI click on the image for a direct link to the dress*
Umbrella Dress £75 from There’s Only One Amy Laws
I seem to have become obsessed with rainbows lately so this delightful dress from There’s Only One Amy Laws has naturally caught my eye! Amy is local to us (she’s based in Somerset) and all her pieces are handmade and screenprinted.
Ice Cream Dress £70 from Cath Kidston
Sunglasses Print Dress £70 from Cath Kidston
My friend Eva recently text me to warn me that I was going to want everything in Cath Kidston‘s new collection. To be fair, that’s not a massively unusual feeling for me but even I wasn’t prepared for how gosh darn lovely their new stuff is! The ice-cream print dress is just so summery and cute (although I can’t say I’m ready to think about summer just yet – Snowmageddon, anyone?) and the sunglasses print is very cool indeed. It’s definitely worth checking out their website right now as they have some really really great pieces (Victoria and I are OBSESSED with this coat).
Ballet Slippers Print Dress £60 from Boden
She and Hem faves, Boden always know how to bring the fun factor. This super-flattering and super-easy to wear number comes in a number of fun prints (including sunglasses – they are obviously very in this year!) but the little ballet slippers are my pick of the bunch. Plie-se will someone buy it for me?
Printed Dress £25.99 from Zara
I find Zara so hit and miss but I spotted this dress on their website and fell for that super cool print! The dress looks a little short (for me) in a few of the pictures so I’ll be battling into town at some point to try and find it IRL.
Chrissy Bunting Stone A-Line Dress £54 from Sugarhill Boutique
Crack out the bunting, we’ve got a Royal Wedding to prepare for (what do you mean, any excuse?!). How jolly is this Sugarhill Boutique affair? The print was inspired by the colourful streets of Brighton and is rather lovely indeed.
Only The Brave Dress £69 from Traffic People
Patterned Dress £29.99 from H&M
Floral Print Dress £66 (although they pretty much always have money off) from La Redoute
Holy Snazzy Prints, Batman! I am totally diggin’ these super fun frocks from Traffic People, H&M and La Redoute! I couldn’t pick just one so, seeing as I’ve been absent for a year, I’ve decided to feature all three! You are welcome.
Stripe Shirt Dress £16 from Matalan
Who doesn’t love a stripey shirt dress? I really love the pop of bright colours in this Matalan number and am also quite into the grandad collar, which makes it a bit different from other dresses I have in this style.
Cat Print Dress £42 from Next
Yana Cat Print Dress £69 from People Tree
CATS! It wouldn’t be Double Thumbs Dresses if there wasn’t at least one adorable cat print to get your claws into. Thankfully, both Next and People Tree have got puuuuuurfect dresses on offer and I am totally feline them both.
Tuck Seem Midi Dress £46 from Topshop
And last but not least is this absolute ball of sunshine from Topshop! We at She and Hem truly believe one can never wear too much yellow and thankfully the stylish folk at Toppers seem to agree.
Missed me?
Jx
*please note that this post does contain affiliated links if they were available*
